Chapter 575 [ Orcus - IX ]

"That wasn't very nice of you, killing my nutrients" - said a slightly distorted female voice.

Cloud's eyes widened in fear as he grabbed Yue and jumped back, only to see a strange curtain of yellow dust appear right where they had been.

"Hmm, I guess I spoke out of turn, maybe I should have attacked first, and then gloated over my new prey" - the female voice said as she showed her appearance.

She was a strange woman with green skin, and distorted face, her hair appeared to be green tentacles and she had some sort of pink flower on her head.

"[Sham Alraune]" - Yue muttered seriously - "That thing is dangerous, it has the ability to control other species through a parasitic organism it releases with its spores."

"Hmm, interesting, I never thought I'd see a vampire in this place" - said the strange plant woman as she let out a sharp laugh.

"Cloud, don't get careless" - Yue said seriously, only to be surprised when Cloud grabbed her again and moved her to another spot.

As the two fell into their new spot, they watched as a new spore curtain appeared in their old location.

"Interesting, your senses are extremely acute for a human, no, you're not human, but not a monster either" - muttered the [Sham Alraune] as he cocked his head to the side - "A hybrid?"

Cloud didn't answer, he just drew his weapon and looked seriously at the strange female creature.

"Well, never mind, when I manage to get control of you, I can check your memories and find out the truth" - smiled the plant woman as she let out a laugh, but before she could continue, her laughter stopped along with the sound of something flying at full speed.

"Huh?" - Yue was surprised when she saw the plant woman's body dissolve on the ground, leaving only a few strange fruits behind.

"What happened?" - Yue asked in surprise as she watched her companion put the gun away.

"Let's move on" - Cloud answered as he shook his head, after all, he didn't sense any more danger in the area, that meant that the plant woman was the only big danger in this place, though before leaving the floor, he took the strange fruits and put them away in his inventory.

Yue quickly ran after the blond, confused because she didn't understand how everything was over so quickly.

"It's simple, I used my weapon, the same one I used to face that scorpion" - Cloud answered calmly.

It was at that moment that Yue remembered the strange artifact that Cloud carried everywhere, although now that he encountered a normal enemy, he discovered the true offensive power of those weapons.

"How's the modification thing going?" - Yue asked curiously - "And can I use them?"

"Not that you're a magic expert?" - Cloud asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Your weapons don't consume mana, and they are not affected by fields that prevent the proper flow of mana in the user's body, so they are a good method of self-defense" - replied Yue honestly - "Not to mention that I'm curious to know more about you and your strange artifacts"

"True, I've found out a lot of things about you, but I haven't told you anything about me" - Cloud replied while nodding calmly - "Let's see, where do I start?"

"From the beginning, obviously" - Yue answered calmly.

"I see you're starting to open up to me" - Cloud said with surprise.

"You want me to open up?" - Yue asked with embarrassment.

"Ok, I wasn't speaking in double entendre, but I feel like I'm starting to recognize how you really are" - replied Cloud while shaking his head.

"I'm only like that with my husband, with other people I'm apathetic, honestly it doesn't matter what happens to the world" - Yue answered honestly - "You saved me from an eternal darkness, and you're helping me overcome my past."

Cloud paused for a few seconds before continuing.

Yue smiled slightly before running after him.

* * *

Another week had passed since Cloud had killed the plant woman, and right now he and Yue, were walking down the staircase leading to the 100th floor of [Orcus].

"No matter how you look at it, it's obvious that we're about to face the final boss of this maze" - Cloud said as he looked around with a frown.

A huge room with a door right at the back.

Yue looked around curiously because she now understood some of the blond's words, such as Final Boss. It could be said that he was an enemy with a strength far superior to anything they had faced, and that he served as the gatekeeper to the exit of this 100-story hellhole.

"I think it's a good idea for us to prepare for the worst, not to mention that you still haven't modified all your weapons" - Yue replied while cocking her head to the side.

"I still can't thank you enough for helping me with the creation of elemental ammo" - nodded Cloud with a small smile.

Yue had been very helpful during the last few days, she had taught him how to channel his magic into small stones that he could use to create different ammunition, also increasing his destructive ability with the creation of new weapons.

Among these weapons, the most destructive was a huge assault cannon that had the ability to fire elemental explosive ammunition. He had employed the elements of fire and electricity to increase the destructive power along with the hardness of the metal obtained from the body of the scorpion that guarded Yue.

"[Magnum Break]" - Cloud muttered as he nodded, then looked at his second weapon, a small pistol that used different elemental ammunition to better suit smaller enemies, and finally, his most used weapon, a naginata-like spear that used elemental stones to be able to imbue itself with said element.

Ironically, the spear had been the most difficult to create because its circuitry was much more complex than he thought, and it didn't help that the elemental conversion time was so small, in other words, this weapon was not yet complete. He had even thought about this spear being able to launch elemental attacks as if it were a gun, but this was still a long way off.

Yue on the other hand, was using a submachine gun that could accumulate up to 5 charges of different elements, which were easily changeable with a simple push of a button.

She had been enjoying this new form of hunting because at least now she could leave her prey complete enough to be able to taste their blood, and while it wasn't as delicious as Cloud's blood, it had helped her regain much of her strength.

"All set?" - Cloud asked as he looked at the blonde girl who had been accompanying him for 50 floors in this labyrinth full of loneliness. He wouldn't admit it, but Yue's company had helped him move forward much faster than he thought, not because she was giving him support by killing his enemies, but because with this, his mind was occupied.

Yue was helping him as much as he was helping her.

"Yes," Yue nodded as he readied his submachine gun.

"I think you'd better use magic this time" - Cloud said seriously - "This room is too big, so the enemy won't be far behind."

Yue frowned, but nodded at the blond's words because it made sense.

The two walked cautiously towards the door, only for when they reached the center of the room, a huge red pentagram appeared on the floor.

"Holy crap, a forced summoning circle!" - Yue exclaimed in shock and terror because even in the past, this was bad news.

Cloud quickly grabbed Yue and stepped back because the last time something like this happened, they ended up summoning a [Behemoth], a 65th floor monster from [Orcus] when they were just advancing through the 10th floor.

Slowly, a huge silhouette began to materialize in the magic circle, revealing what appeared to be some sort of turtle, with 6 long serpentine heads.

"That thing is a [Hydra]!" - Yue said as he wiped off his sweat because those things should have become extinct years ago because the people of the past were terrified of their abilities to control all the elements at will.

Cloud looked closely at each of the 6 heads of the [Hydra], only to notice that these had a different colored symbol than the others.

"You say that thing can control more than one element?" - Cloud asked as he pointed to the symbols - "Then that will help us figure out which element each head uses."

"You're right" - Yue replied, though her face paled as she looked directly into the eyes of the black-marked snake.

Her eyes began to unfocus as memories of her years of loneliness, popped into her head, one after another, ending at the moment she was betrayed by her uncle - "AH!"

Cloud was surprised at this change, more so when the girl who had been accompanying him all this time, was starting to scream, terrified for some reason he didn't understand.

"Yue, react!" - Cloud exclaimed as he lashed out at the girl to try to get her to come to, but she didn't seem to succeed, so he quickly bit his lip to make it bleed, and gave her a little kiss.

Yue quickly regained consciousness as she felt the taste of the blond's blood along with the feel of his lips, until she was able to calm down - ". . ."

"Are you okay?" - Cloud asked as he turned his focus back to his enemy.

-

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